Here’s to hoping this awful war ends in 2025. – Natylie

By Geoffrey Roberts, 12/23/24

1. A swift end to the war is in sight: sooner rather than later, Russia’s battlefield successes will force Ukraine to agree an armistice that will halt hostilities and open peace talks.
2. Putin is holding the pass against Russian hardliners who want to prosecute the war to the point of Ukraine’s complete destruction.
3. Trump has no reason or interest in being dragged into the quagmire of the Western proxy war with Russia.
4. Public opinion in favour of a negotiated, compromise peace is stronger than ever, not least in Ukraine itself.
5. The Global South remains a staunch ally of peace and the closer comes a ceasefire the more powerful will be its influence.
6. Western warmongers remain vocal but their shrill militarism sounds all the more hollow.
7. The political tide in Europe continues to turn in favour of anti-war forces.
8. Western media coverage of the war is less propagandistic, more realistic, and increasingly open to alternative views.
9. The danger of existential escalation has not disappeared but it has diminished.